


La Cité de la Lumière

by Hanzohara



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: F/M, Valentines Vacation to Kalos !!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:55:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22732126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanzohara/pseuds/Hanzohara
Summary: It is decidedly much cooler here than in Alola. While her breath does not hang in front of her as a mist to remind her of the chill like Sinnoh had, the breeze is enough to send a flow of cool wind up her sleeves before it ebbs away slowly. Left in its wake is, to Anabel’s quiet discontent, goosebumps she quickly raises twin gloved hands to begin rubbing away at. It definitely could be worse though, her mind supplies quickly, at least there is a warmer front slated to wash over the region in a couple days time, and by then, they will surely be in Lumiose proper.
Relationships: Handsome | Looker/Lila | Anabel
Comments: 8
Kudos: 12





	La Cité de la Lumière

**Author's Note:**

> Based upon this lovely work by a dear friend @Vergolophus found here: https://twitter.com/vergolophus/status/1228429672519753734 !!

Only the first photograph on this particular page of their memories was taken intentionally, made obvious from their position, the angle of the camera held just so, that the lens faced upwards a bit. While it stands not near as professionally taken as the following two, it is, perhaps, the most endearing of the three, Anabel muses quietly. Her hand shifts, fingertips sliding across the edges of the photo, and slowly, surely, a pleasant smile finds its way across her lips. Ah… if only she could find a way to escape this office… it’s mountains of paperwork and the droning phone calls of superiors and supposed Ultra Beast sighters, and whatever else the world seemed content to throw at her. Escape to that very first day of their joint vacation…

\---

It is decidedly much cooler here than in Alola. While her breath does not hang in front of her as a mist to remind her of the chill like Sinnoh had, the breeze is enough to send a flow of cool wind up her sleeves before it ebbs away slowly. Left in its wake is, to Anabel’s quiet discontent, goosebumps she quickly raises twin gloved hands to begin rubbing away at. It definitely could be worse though, her mind supplies quickly, at least there is a warmer front slated to wash over the region in a couple days time, and by then, they will surely be in Lumiose proper.

All things considered though, it would not be too bad if the two spent a little more time than necessary in Coumarine. In spite of the seaside winds bringing in mild temperatures, the view is… simply stunning. They are among the last to disembark from the ship, and she can hear Looker from here a ways away at the foot of the gangway, speaking with some of their associates on his Gear ( likely the… _nosier_ ones and assuring them of their safe landing ). With him preoccupied, Anabel takes but a second to catch his eye, waving her hand briefly, before gesturing to the end of the harbor that looks out over the bay, and then proceeds exactly there.

She’s unsure of just what it is about Kalos’ seas, but they seem as though they are a much deeper blue than the crystal coasts of Alola. Not quite as dark as Sinnoh’s, half encased over in ice most of the time, but still a shade of blue that is positively captivating to look out over. The way the sun catches it and the lower waves that roll up against the rocky face keeping the harbor up is enough to keep her attention off the incessant wind, and her hands are away from her arms soon enough, instead finding the railings.

In due time, she can hear the one-sided conversation behind her die down, and in a matter of seconds there is an arm about her waist, hand resting firmly at her hip. Looker, she knows without even needing to look, but how can she do anything but? Shifting her gaze from the ocean is a hard thing to do, but the sight of Looker at her side is well worth it, and she cannot help the bright smile that tugs at the corner of her lips. 

“It’s so lovely, is it not?”

She can see the way Looker’s own lips turn up, curl to reveal pearly white teeth in a grin, and his brown eyes turn upon the sea as well. A few seconds are given as he, presumably, takes in the sight and while a gust of wind blows over them, it seems far more bearable with him at her side.

“I must agree with you, my Love… you are simply radiant here…” He pauses, turning back and finding Anabel’s own gaze, narrowed slightly in confusion. “Ah!.. but I do suppose the sea is quite lovely as well!”

She ought to be more used to his eccentricities by now, his constant need to validate and appreciate her. As it stands though, there is a fierceness to the blush that lights in her cheeks, and while she could certainly blame the winds, Looker is _eccentric_ not stupid. She simply scoffs and jerks her attention towards the sea once again, yet as she does, she sees Looker’s other arm move from his pocket, and after a few seconds, he holds it precariously past the rail.

“Come now, my dearly beloved, let us commemorate this: our very first day in Kalos on vacation! Smile!”

With Looker’s large grin, the sound of the waves but feet away and the Flying-type Pokemon above, how could she do anything but?

\---

While the Coumarin Resort was luxurious to say the least, neither of them are content to remain in one place for too long. The first couple of days spent sightseeing were lovely, and the incense shop in particular had some seasonal products that had caught Anabel’s eyes ( or rather, her nose ). There was good company too, and Looker was quite pleased to share some of the tamer stories of their adventures, keenly leaving out some of the more… confidential parts of course. By the end of their last evening booked in the resort, the two had made a host of new Kalosian acquaintances, as well as some from other cross-region travelers.

Still, it is a pleasant change of scenery as they begin their sightseeing. While it would have certainly been easy enough to take the direct route to Lumiose to see _the_ sight to see, Anabel had been quite eager to see some of the smaller towns in the locale before returning to the contemporary, even bordering on futuristic, industry of Lumiose. Their first day out of Coumarine was spent in its entirety travelling to the next town over. While Looker was quite keen on getting another photograph near the coast of Azure Bay, they had still managed to arrive at Shalour with a good chunk of the evening to spare. As Anabel had read, Shalour was a city that was quite proud of the sites it had, and after spending the rest of their day filling Looker’s Gear with even more photographs. 

The very gate from which they emerged from the previous Route had a lovely flower display, the coastline to the north of the city, and then the Tower of Mastery itself… It was all so breathtaking. As Looker falls into the bed beside her in their shared room, she finds that it was entirely worth the pitstop in taking the long way to Lumiose. 

Even so, it is nothing short of a relief when they, at last arrive in Geosenge Town. Inland as they are, there is far less wind to chill, and the front has begun to settle over the region, finding a comfortable mid-temperature. The dense forest around the town certainly is a nice added bonus to keep the wind out, though it does add to the overall tone of the sound. As memory called, with a decent but of insight from Looker, Geosenge was the site of the peak of criminal activity many years back in Kalos. Even as they walk down the path toward the patisserie Anabel had looked up and found, she can see the scars in the town.

The ground is, in some places, uneven and while there is no threat of instability or something as major as a sinkhole, it makes clear where the edge of this supposed weapon had torn the land apart. The homes too, give their own indication. The homes here are smaller and closer together, but there is a space, coincidentally amidst the uneven earth, that is entirely barren of houses ( the epicenter of the weapon, she presumes ). Perhaps she is caught staring a little too much, and she feels a gentle nudge as Looker looks to her.

“It seems as though we are here, ma chérie. Shall we go try these pastries you are so eager for? I do confess I have been looking forward to this myself.”

And in they go… and stay, for a surprising amount of time, admittedly. The selection, even for a smaller patisserie in one of the outermost cities from Lumiose, is so large, and so clearly well crafted. The elderly couple behind the counter are pleased enough to guide them through their choices, and when they finally leave, they each have a treat in their hand.

Looker’s chocolate crepes are thin, but made up for in the amount and how they are folded, keeping the strawberries and powdered sugar within firmly nestled, even after several bites. In contrast… well to be honest, Anabel’s not yet figured how she will tackle her own. It is, by all accounts, and ice cream cone filled with ice cream, and yet the presentation of it all is far beyond that of what other occasions she has to draw on. The gelatin ( is that what it was ? she couldn’t quite tell ) is shaped carefully, seeming less like food and more like a blooming flower, revealing a strawberry and jam in its center.

It’s when she is just about to just bite into the damn thing and be done with it, when there is an audible click, and flash of light off to their left, still partway in front of the patisserie itself. The way Looker reacts rather quickly, the way she follows suite and wildly looks in the direction of their now identified onlooker seems to be something of an indication for the young man holding an older camera. His head raises from behind the device, and he almost appears sheepish for a second before the image slides out from the lower half and he quickly seems to approach.

“Ah! Désolé, monsieur, madame! I had simply overhead the conversation! The one you had with the lovely couple in there you see-- we do not often get tourists coming this way, and so I could not help myself. Please, please,” His request is just a tad confusing as he draws nearer, but it clears itself when the photograph he had presumably just taken is offered out to the two of them. “It is a lovely little pâtisserie, non?”

Between the two of them, a glance is spared before Looker steps forward. Anabel almost thinks to worry before he hears him bellow out in laughter and take up the offered photo.

“Ah, bien sûr! But you seem like a smart young man! Tell me, what other places might we find to be as photogenic as this lovely place you’ve caught us in!”

Ah well… there he goes in; there’s little to follow with besides an amused smirk as the young man responds enthusiastically ands turns to lead them away, and Looker’s hand quickly finds hers.

\---

It is their final day in Kalos… Arceus-above now, how soon the time had passed. It certainly didn’t seem as though two weeks had gone by, and yet here they were, slowly counting down the minutes until the hour would hit. The sun had long since set, and it seemed that so soon as it had, the city itself had come alight. After the prior week having been spent in the Kalosian countryside, Lumiose was at once a breath of fresh air as well as something a bit overwhelming. While she had certainly read up on just how far ahead the rest of the region Lumiose was by comparison in technology, it was so noticeable to have been truly living it now.

However, even with that stipulation, being in a larger city was refreshing in its own way. The sights that were to be seen were far more than they had found out in the cities and towns, far more than even in the port of their first arrival. The capital did not disappoint in that manner, and even after several days spent here, the two had yet to cover even half of what was available as far they were aware. Though… the cafes and restaurants they _had_ been able to try out were certainly up to par.

Now though, as night sets out upon their last day, they find themselves in one of the many gardens of Lumiose, enjoying the lights of the city as they glitter in the night. Where they had started off standing at one another’s side, Looker quickly turned to her, offering a hand that Anabel was quick to take and be lead into a slow dance to the sounds of music on a distant street. Swaying gently from side to side, Anabel’s arms found their way to Looker’s shoulders, sliding about them as his own rest upon her hips. In the distance, there is hooting and hollering as the music picks up into something less romantic and more energetic, and with a collective, pleasant sigh, their swaying slowly dies down.

“Mon amour,” It is Looker who starts, gazing down upon her with fondness alight in chestnut brown eyes. “ I love you… truly I do, most ardently… this vacation of ours… I do so love it… I do not wish for it to end… but I am most glad I was able to spend it with you.”

Mm, when he speaks like that, so quietly his voice almost seems to bleed into something deep, Anabel often thinks perhaps he should have been called Talker, or maybe Charmer for a callsign. Her hands slowly move back, dragging down his shoulders, along the scarf that rests over his chest until she can grasp one tail of it in either hand and tug him a little lower.

The kiss they share in the shadow of the tower is slow, it is passionate, something that in the midst of this whole bout of excitement and constant travelling and sightseeing, they had sorely neglected. It does not escalate, not quite, but it does not need to- the true length of their feelings conveyed in the subtle way they move against one another, the familiarity they feel, and the calmness that comes over them.

So calm, in fact, that the distant _click_ is almost missed, even when they had since parted. Both peek to the side, and are, perhaps a little, surprised. Not quite at the photographer that had taken their photograph moments after they had broken their kiss, but more so that it is, if memory serves, the very same young man they met a week ago. He’s grown more confident, if the way he meets their stares with a smile as he approaches.

“Mes amis! So good it is to see you, and I do apologize for interrupting… très photogénique you were, I was simply compelled to capture this image, to find you here in the wake of our lovely Lumiose Tower… you did not notice though… did you?”

Confusion writes its way onto both Looker and Anabel’s faces, and at the young man’s gesture, they turn to look upon the tower… and my… what a sight it is. Alight on what seems like all sides, the tower itself glimmers in a way that it almost looks ethereal, like ivory or platinum, or something else that shines above all else. Spellbound as they are, they only turn back when their photographer draws nearer, and offers their final photograph to them.

“I hope that you enjoy the rest of your nights… and for however long it is that you stay in our region. I do believe I have interrupted though, and so I shall leave you too be.”

With a few more quick words exchanged, they are once again left in the gardens on their own. Before them, the light that envelops the tower, the glittering aura that surrounds it, it all begins to fade away and with it, they are once again left in the darkness of the duller city lights. A couple streets down, music begins once again, and the voices rise once more though where they once were of merrymaking, the distant sounds of farewell and well-wishes ring out.

It is as good a sign as any, and after sharing one more brief kiss, after resting herself against Looker’s chest as they swayed to the last of the music, they turn to return to the hotel for the final night in the city of lights.

“I think,” Looker begins, and his voice shows far more than his appearance his tiredness. “That we should put them all in a book, like a scrapbook for us to enjoy. The photos I mean- the ones we’ve accumulated, my love.”

Her response comes quickly, not even a moment later. “I think… I think that’s a lovely idea…” And you know, maybe her voice betrays a bit of her own fatigue too...


End file.
